Demons of Bourbon Street

chapter 18

Scrambling to my feet, I glared at the demon in front of me. We had to break her connection to Kane and send her back to Hell.


Now. Before she hurt anyone else.

I took a step and paused. Meri wasn’t moving. Her chest barely rose with each shallow breath. Kane and Dan were sprawled on

either side of her, and Philip and Lailah were nowhere to be seen.

I fell to my knees beside Kane. He turned his bewildered eyes on me, clearly still addled from the reality jump.

“Don’t break the circle!” Lucien’s familiar voice commanded my attention.

I spun, finally noticing the whole coven, plus Bea and my mother, surrounding us. Magic sparked between them. I hardly felt a thing.

“Get up!” I demanded and pulled Kane to his feet. He swayed, but managed to stay upright. “Help me with Dan.”

Meri sat up and put out a hand as if to stop us, but dropped it and stared at the grass.

What was she up to? Was she too weak? It didn’t matter.

I needed to get Dan away from her. He gazed up at me as a small, playful smile crept over his lips. “It’s about time,” he teased. “I

thought you’d never get us out of there.”

I frowned. Clearly he wasn’t aware of the current situation. “Come on.” I extended my hand. “We’ve got to go.”

He didn’t move. “Why?”

“Dan, please,” I begged, willing him to accept my help.

Finally he grabbed it, but as he sat up, he noticed Meri. “You okay?” he asked her.

Not looking up, she shook her head.

He let go and scooted the few feet to her side.

“No, Dan! It’s a trap.” My heart jumped to my throat as he wrapped an arm around her. “What the hell are you doing?”

He looked up, eyes wide and eyebrows raised in surprise. “What do you mean? I’m helping her. Just like you do for all your friends.”

“You still think she’s your friend?” I glanced around, making sure we really were in Bea’s backyard. The coven, Bea, and my mother

held the circle. Thank goodness—otherwise, Meri would be free. After we broke her connection to Kane, she was headed straight

back to Hell.

The group stared at us with a mix of confusion and wonder. Bea’s emotions were closed off, as usual, but she carefully studied Meri

and Dan. My mother locked eyes with me, fear and distrust written all over her face.

I clutched Kane’s arm. “Is this real? I mean, we’re not dreaming or something.”

“No.” He pulled away from the pair still sitting on the grass. “It’s as real as it gets.”

“But what’s that all about?” I gestured to Dan and Meri. “Stockholm syndrome?”

“Maybe.” His voice came out strained and with his free hand, he clutched his leg.

Instantly, I went lightheaded. I grabbed on to him and we both teetered over. Kane landed on my left shoulder. “Ouch,” I cried.

“Jade.” My mom’s voice penetrated my dizzy haze.

Kane flopped on his back in the grass, breathing heavy.

My energy came in waves, pulsing through me with each of Kane’s ragged breaths. Damn it! Meri was still sucking my energy from

him. I placed my hand on his chest. “Do you have the ruby?”

With his eyes closed, he reached into his pocket and pulled the gleaming jewel out.

Dan shot to his feet. “No!” He ran over and dived to tackle me.

I rolled just in time to avoid being crushed. When I sat up, Kane already had his arms wrapped around Dan from behind, holding him

in a headlock. Hot, intense anger surged from Kane, no doubt the source of his new found strength.

“What’s wrong with you?” Kane seethed. “She put her life in danger to save yours.”

“And I gave mine up for her.” Dan twisted, trying to escape Kane’s grasp.

“Stop,” Meri said in a voice so quiet I barely heard her over the struggle in front of me. “Dan, stop fighting them.”

We all turned, silent in our astonishment.

Meri had gotten to her feet. Her entire demeanor had changed. Gone was the vindictive, revenge-loving demon, and in her place

stood a woman bent forward, hands clasped behind her back, and shoulders hunched. Tired. Beaten. Full of sorrow.

If she wasn’t my sworn enemy, I’d feel sorry for her.

Dan stopped struggling, and Kane shoved him away. Rubbing his neck, Dan moved once again to Meri’s side.

She lifted her head, tears glistening in her now gray eyes. “Let them do what they have to.”

Dan grabbed her by the shoulders, making her straighten up. “If they do, you’ll be lost again. And after everything we’ve worked for

—”

She touched his cheek, a gentle, loving caress. “I’m living off stolen energy. It isn’t right. None of this is.” She waved a hand

indicating Kane and me. “They deserve to live their lives. I had my chance. It’s time for me to go…back.” She choked out the word

and glanced away.

I heard their conversation, but nothing made sense.

Meri, a caring individual? A self-sacrificing one? For God’s sake, she was a demon.

I turned to Bea. “How is any of this possible?”

My mentor appeared just as shocked as I was. She shook her head, still carefully holding the powerful circle together. She wasn’t

taking any chances.

And neither was I. It had to be a trick. She’d either possessed Dan again or brainwashed him. Who knew what could happen in

Hell?

Centering myself, I breathed deep and sent out my awareness. Usually I made an effort to not invade other people’s energy. The

intrusion left me drained. But Meri wasn’t a person. And if she was acting, we needed to know.

Kane’s emotions, on some level, always registered with me. As his frustration came into clearer focus, I squeezed his hand and

pushed his energy to the back of my mind. We’d grown so close, I couldn’t completely block him anyway.

As Dan’s anxiety, impatience, and fear overtook my senses, my blood boiled and adrenaline made me itch for action. But I knew

him well. Better than I knew Kane, even. I’d once been able to push his energy to the side. That changed after he’d been victim to

Meri’s possession a few months ago. Curiously, I didn’t have an issue this time. With one sweep, Dan’s emotions faded into the

recesses of my mind.

I let out a tiny sigh of relief. Maybe he wasn’t possessed. Or Meri was too weak to fill him with the vitriol I’d experienced just a week

ago, before I’d kicked her ass and banished her to Hell.

I threw my mental energy into Meri. Her sorrow rushed through my limbs, making me shake. My heart weighed heavy with years of

her unshed tears. My eyes burned, and I blinked back the intense desire to cry.

Meri turned, probably sensing my intrusion. She locked eyes with Dan, and fearful anticipation engulfed me, along with no small

amount of love and loyalty. All of it courtesy of Meri’s emotional state. The demon had feelings for Dan. She cared about him.

Deeply. But how? What had happened after I’d broken her last week? You couldn’t kill demons, but they could turn into an empty

shell of their former selves.

Had she somehow gotten a new soul?

Terror seized me. Was that possible?

Kane reached for me, clasping my hand. A smooth, cold rock pressed into my palm, a small point pinching into my skin. The ruby.

I needed to destroy it to break the connection. I only hoped I had enough power.

Holding my palm up, I met Meri’s gaze, her intense eyes searching mine. An overwhelming sense of sorrow rocked me to my core.

The sadness poured from her and touched my soul.

I hesitated. Was Meri beyond hope? Bea told me she was, but that was before we’d seen this new side of her. If I didn’t destroy the

stone, what would happen to Kane? I couldn’t put him in danger just because I wasn’t sure what was happening with the demon.

Whatever it was, she needed to go back to Hell, where she belonged.

“Go on, Jade.” Bea urged from behind me. “Say the incantation. We’re here to back you up.”

In all the confusion, I’d forgotten the coven could feed me power again. Reaching for my magical spark, I frowned. The usual flutter

below my breast bone was gone, leaving nothing but an unfamiliar void.

Damn, I’d lost more energy than I thought.

Don’t think about it. Just get through this and everything will be all right. I could have a mental breakdown later.

Thank goodness for Bea and the coven. Resisting the urge to close my eyes, I kept a trained eye on Meri and held my hand out. Sun

bounced off the ruby.

Meri and Dan froze. Then they exchanged a small glance. I had to cast the spell now.

“Binding stone, hear my call. Sever your hold.” A small thread of coven magic pulsed in my chest. It was working. “Break the

connection between dreamwalker and demon. Let your magic run cold.”

The heat from the stone faded. The coven’s power ran currents of magic through my veins. Alive. Powerful. Pure. My body flexed

with strength, ready to destroy the stone. Once it turned icy cold, I could unleash the firestorm of destruction built by the coven. I

focused on the very center of the ruby, ready to strike.

Dan moved, but I felt, rather than saw, Meri hold him in place. For whatever reason, she didn’t want him to interfere. Concern for

him? Or did she really mean it was time for her to go back?

A fresh current of power jolted through me with so much force, I stumbled. My knee hit the soft earth and the ruby tumbled to the

ground.

My only thought was to retrieve the stone and break Meri’s hold on Kane. Now or never. I closed my fingers around the narrow tip.

Immediately I let the coven magic go, forcing it into the jewel.

Someone dove in front of me, knocking the stone from my tentative grip, but it was too late. The power I’d unleashed was already

doing its job.

Behind me, Kane grunted and muttered obscenities, no doubt suffering a horrific extraction. I turned, expecting to see Dan holding

the stone. Instead, he cradled Meri, careful not to let her fall.

If Dan hadn’t tried to take the ruby, then who had? I turned and met pale green eyes filled with guilt.

Philip. Where had he been?

“Siste!” he yelled and grabbed the stone. A white light pulsed in his hand.

“Philip?” Meri said in a faint, bewildered voice.

Lailah echoed Meri’s call from outside the circle. Her eyes widened with disbelief as she hurried toward him.

Philip concentrated on the ruby until the glow disappeared. A sharp stab of ice ripped through my gut. I doubled over, clenching my

stomach with my hands. The pain spread through my core, pulsing. My knees gave out and I fell to the ground, gasping for air.

Philip yelled, “Go!”

Black spots clouded my vision. Who was he yelling at?

I tried to get to my feet, ready to flee, but the spots grew bigger as my head spun. Voices morphed into a dull static of white noise. I

clamped my hands to my temples and dropped to my knees once more, rocking back and forth, willing my senses to clear.

“Kane?” I called, but had no idea if he could hear me.

Someone clasped my shoulders, keeping me from falling. The person was talking, but through the static, I couldn’t make out any

words.

Panic seized me. Blinded and deaf, I groped for the person steadying me. Strong arms came around me and through my haze, the

scent of fresh rain reached me.

Kane. His scent. I was safe.

I took deep, steady breaths. Kane’s worry started to seep into my awareness. Without thinking, I sent him a tiny dose of calm. His

grip around me relaxed, but he didn’t let go. I leaned into him, grateful for the familiarity.

He tensed, and before I could react, a zap of magic tingled through me. The static faded, and the bright glare of the late afternoon

made me squint.

“Welcome back,” Bea said, squatting in front of me on her lawn.

“Um…thanks.” I glanced around at the coven, still holding the circle. Only Bea and Kane were with me in the middle. “Where are Dan

and Meri?”

“Gone.” Bea’s face was blank.

“Gone, as in…back to Hell gone?” I clamped a hand over my forehead and rubbed at the headache pulsing above my eyes.

“Oh, no, dear. Once Philip interrupted the unbinding, the three of them took off. In Philip’s car.”

“What do you mean? Left in his car?” I twisted, spotting Lailah. “What’s going on?”

She swallowed, her lips pressed together in a thin line. “It appears Philip has decided to help his mate after all.”

The hurt in her bright blue eyes almost made me want to hug her. I pushed the impulse aside. “Does that mean he’s on the verge of

falling too?”

Lailah shook her head slowly. “No.”

“How come? He’s helping a demon.”

Lailah’s eyes locked with Bea’s, each of them reading something in the other’s gaze.

“What?” I demanded.

“Here’s the strange thing.” Lailah paced in front of me and paused in thought.

“Yes?” I prompted.

She met my penetrating stare. “Meri isn’t a demon anymore.”

I shot to my feet, almost toppling over, but Kane caught me. “Thanks,” I mumbled and turned back to Lailah. “How is that possible?”

“We don’t know for sure,” Bea chimed in, her face pinched in confusion.

“Something went wrong when Philip interrupted the unbinding. The spell didn’t work correctly,” Lailah said, her eyes full of pity.

I spun, grasping Kane’s forearms. “What happened? Are you all right?” Hastily, I did a visual inspection and then frowned when I

didn’t see any obvious damage. “Did she get another mark on you?”

He smiled. “No. In fact, I’m as good as new. See?” He put his full weight on his previously injured leg and grinned. “All better.”

“Good. That’s good.” I let out a sigh of relief and turned back to Lailah. “How is that possible? We were with her the night her soul

died. How can she be anything other than a demon without a soul?”

“She has one now. Or part of one.”

An ache rippled through my core, settling in my gut. “Part of one? Whose? Dan’s?”

“No, dear,” Bea said gently. “Not Dan’s. For the time being, his is still safe.”

“Whose then?”

Lailah took a step forward and rested a light hand on my shoulder. “Whatever Philip did when he broke your unbinding spell caused

it to malfunction. Kane was freed from her grasp, but somehow, she managed to siphon part of someone’s soul.” Compassion

radiated from her. “Yours.”

“Mine?” I started to tremble, frantically searching for the edges of my soul. I’d touched it once while Bea coached me on finding my

inner magic. It had to be there. “Am I…I mean, could I…is it gone?”

Lailah shook her head. “No.”

“Thank God.” Hell wasn’t a place I ever wanted to visit again.

“But it’s not one hundred percent here, either.”

“What does that mean?”

“You and Meri…well, you’re both sharing your soul.”